gas

Question
I have an 11 year old male Lab that has recently been gassing out the house.  He was a very active hunter until deafness and arthritis has sidelined him.  He has grown up on Purina Lamb and Rice.  Because of the arthritis, he does not get much exercise.  There is a product in a pet catolog for excessive gas.  The product contains 500mg of yucca and is a little on the expensive side.  I can buy an herbal product that contains 500mg of yucca root for much less.  Will this harm my dog and do you think it will solve the gas problem?

Answer
I understand the need to eliminate this problem quickly, but the only way I think you will do that is with a diet change. Since this is recent, there might be some changes in him that should be evaluated by a vet. Once any organic disease is ruled out then you can proceed with a diet change.

Purina lamb and rice also has fat and animal digest which can cause intestinal flatulence. Being not the best quality of food, Purina does not keep their formulations the same from batch to batch which can also wreak havoc on the dog's gut. Some people have dogs that get really sick from eating the same food, different bags and have gotten diarrhea and vomiting.

I don't know much about yucca so I can't add anything about that but some people use Beano on their dog's food for gas.

I would suggest you changing him to a senior or a large breed diet, because the food you are feeding him is not formulated for older dogs, but for "All life Stages", which means that this food is way too high in protein for an older dog. Any time they make a food for all life stages that means they formulate it for puppies needs. And that formulation has way too many nutrients for any dog other than puppy age.

So the best thing for him is to get him either on Science Diet lamb and rice adult, or Adult Large breed light or have your vet put him on the newer J/D food for adult dogs with joint disease.
Many dogs have had miraculous improvement in their mobility with this food. It is a prescription diet so your vet has to recommend it and they sell it. If not they can order it for you.

Hope fully this helps. Talk your vet about the joint diet or try the Science Diet Sensitive stomach, lamb and rice or large breed diets.

Watch for beef digest on the bag and steer clear if it has some. Science Diet has some of that on some food, so read the labels.